Brian Morse

Titan Fleischmann

Football
30-08-2024 10:08:00 AM

Lamberty’s Account

MSU hopes for further improvement after season-opener win at New Mexico

BOZEMAN, Montana – Bobby Dalyhave seen this before.

The Montana State defensive coordinator and fifth-year linebackers coach recorded 10 tackles and a sack in Montana State’s 19-10 upset of Colorado in 2006, and he felt helpless the following week as NCAA Division II rival Chadron State mauled MSU 35-24. That eight-day stretch has continued to shape Daly’s coaching career.

“I think we got overconfident,” Daly said matter-of-factly in the days following Montana State’s thrilling come-from-behind victory over NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) New Mexico on Saturday. That Colorado win was MSU’s most recent against an FBS opponent before Saturday. “We went down and beat an FBS opponent and thought we were done. Then Danny Woodhead and Chadron State came here a week later and blamed us. So my message to the defense on Monday was exactly that story.”

The Bobcats host Utah Tech in St. George, Utah, on Saturday at 8 p.m., and MSU head coach Brent Vigen said his team purposefully used its experience from a week ago to prepare for the Trailblazers. “We were extremely pleased with the outcome” of the game against New Mexico, he said, “and I think our guys and our coaches took a good look at it and realized we have a lot of room to improve. That’s really what we need to focus on this week, is taking another step forward.”

Following a 2-9 season in 2023, Utah Tech hired former Idaho State linebacker and Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson as head coach. Anderson infused the Trailblazers’ roster with talent, luring 17 transfers to St. George, but Vigen said he’s building around “a core of players who were on the field against us last year and played well.”

Vigen said the element of the unknown, facing a team with a new coaching staff that hasn’t played a game yet, is a big factor for the second straight week. “We have another opponent, Utah Tech, and there’s a lot of uncertainty, even though we played them last year,” he said. “That’s a lot of games ago, and for them it’s a lot of different players, a new coach and coaching staff. Obviously, we’re going to their place this year, so this game is going to be in a new environment. We really have to focus on what we can do to get better, while also predicting to some extent what Utah Tech is going to do.”

The Cats faced similar circumstances a week ago when they defeated New Mexico and first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall. MSU scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 17-point Lobos lead with less than 14 minutes to play, earning the program’s first win over an FBS opponent in 18 years. The Cats rushed for 362 yards and outgained New Mexico by 567 total yards to 324. When the team needed him most, quarterback Tommy Mellott scored drives of 80, 93 and 89 yards.

“When you have a quarterback like Tommy who’s been in a few of those situations over the course of his career,” Vigen said, “the moment wasn’t too big for him. He executed it really well and we had a few guys on the other side of those throws that made good catches and offensive line-wise we withstood a lot of pressure during that period.”

Adjustments in the game are important, Vigen said. “Offensively, like last week, you have to see that maybe that’s where things start if they’re trying to build their offense. If Iowa transfer Deacon Hill is their starter, that would suggest they have to lean more toward a passing offense. They seem to value their skills, based on what some of the fall previews seem to be. It’s a pro style to some extent, I think, but more of a 50-50 offense (between run and pass) because they have some good running backs.”

Vigen said Montana State’s offensive staff has been gathering information in a variety of ways leading up to Saturday’s game. “You have to look at what Coach Anderson did at Stanford. He was the longtime defensive coordinator there and they were really good during that stretch. A lot of big bodies, I know, probably a little different than last year, but there’s definitely some guys that were on the field last year that did some good things against us.”

Still, Vigen said Montana State’s approach is to prepare for what it sees on film and stick to the team’s own game plan. “We can’t practice against ghosts this week, we’ve got to stick with what we think we’re going to get and go into the game like we did last week and make some adjustments to what they’re doing.”

Also like last weekend, the Bobcats will have to deal with high temperatures. The temperature in Albuquerque at kickoff last weekend was 90 degrees, and the forecast for this week is for the mid-90s at kickoff. That would be one of the five or six hottest games at kickoff the Cats have ever played. “It’s another game that’s going to be in the elements, it’s going to be 90-plus at 8 o’clock on Saturday night,” Vigen said.

Kickoff is at 8 p.m. MT on Saturday at Greater Zion Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with no broadcast scheduled. The game will also be broadcast on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network in Montana.

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